With hot August nights upon us, it is only fitting that this month's theme is good old AMERICAN "Muscle Cars"! And, since way back in 1975 (while I was a senior in high school), I was lucky enough to be the proud young owner of a 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle "SS396" (code L34/350HP) in Island Teal Metallic with black "racing" stripes and a factory "Muncie" M-20, aluminum, 4-speed manual transmission and plenty of wheel-hoppin' power! What an awesome car and oh, the fond memories I have of that car and those "good old days"! But enough about me and my old girlfriends!

The featured "Muscle Car" this week is, of course, a completely restored 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle "SS396" offered by the fine group of specialists at LRA Auto Museum and Sales of Bristol, PA and magnificently refinished in the original factory color of "Matador Red" (also the one and only shade of red for 1968). Check out this and the many other fine vehicles they have to offer while you have the time. Well then, we might as well start with a copy of what they had to say about this particularly nice specimen right here:

"This is a DATE CODED ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL 1968 Chevy Chevelle SS... It is a TRUE 138 Super Sport completely restored. It has a date coded 396ci L78 motor that pushes 375HP with an M22 ROCKCRUSHER 4-speed transmission with the muncie 4-speed shifter. It has a 3.36 12 bolt posi rear, front disk brakes, chambered exhausts, custom headers, new fuel lines, brake lines, gas tank, wiring harness, practically everything! ENGINE AND TRANS ONLY HAVE 380 MILES SINCE RESTORATION! It was recently pained the original matador red with the black factory vinyl top... and has a completely brand new SS interior including wood steering wheel. BFG silvertown redline tires, tinted glass and much much more! I have over 2000 hours of time spent on restoration and over $50,000 in receipts. You will not be disappointed in this SHOWROOM condition Chevelle SS. Recently won the SuperChevy show at Maplegrove Raceway in Reading, PA. Currently asking $41,995 OR BEST OFFER For more information, please call Matt at 215-781-3790!
STOCK/INV. NUMBER: 216"

The 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle "SS396" was the only year that the "Super Sport" or "SS" was it's own separate model which can be distinguished by a vin# starting with a 138 and the only engine available in a 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle "SS" model was the 396 c.i. V8 (all with a varying type of 4-bbl carburetor), which came in only three forms . . . 325HP, 350HP or 375HP! This is what today's "Internet Bible" (Wikipedia) says a "Muscle Car" is: "Muscle car is a term used to refer to a variety of high performance automobiles." The Merriam-Webster definition is more limiting, "any of a group of American-made 2-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." The term generally refers to 2-door, rear-wheel drive, family-style, 4+ passenger mid-size cars (and, by some, full-size cars) equipped with large, powerful, V8s, and sold at an affordable price for mainly street use and sometimes both formal and informal drag racing."

Well, I guess that sums it all up! Or does it??? I wonder if any of the people who wrote those descriptions have ever really driven a true "Muscle Car"? And if so, would they not have mentioned the way in which your adrenalin starts to flow as soon as that fire-breathing V8 roars to life, sits there rumbling at idle like a nervous cat getting ready to pounce on it's prey. And before the car ever moves even an inch, you can just hear, smell and feel the raw horsepower just waiting to be unleashed by the mere pressing of a small pedal on the floor? And what about when you sit in the seat, drivers or passengers, it makes no difference, and you are immediately pinned into that seat the moment you mash your foot into that accelerator pedal and release the clutch, which, in turn, breaks loose those big, oversized, rear tires and you conjure every muscle in your body just to try and pull yourself out of the upholstery long enough to bang the clutch to hit second gear, just as she starts drifting a bit sideways, you again, pull every shred of power you can muster and slam her into third gear, both rear wheels still spinning (because you have "posi-traction" of course) and that big V8 just screaming to be unleashed from it's mounts and trying to twist itself right outta that frame, which at the moment, is doing all it can to merely control the beast and by now the smoke from the tires is so thick and engulfing the whole car that you can barely see where you're headed, the look of horror on your unwitting passengers face is priceless (today those videos would go viral on youtube!) and for a split second you even wonder . . . is she gonna grab traction and launch us like a slingshot into the future or am I gonna try to pull my foot off that small pedal on the right long enough to regain control before that cop pulls a u-turn and tries to catch up to me to give me another ticket for having far too much fun! As a good old friend of mine once said (and I am sure he stole it from somewhere) "It's a much fun as a human-being can possibly have . . . with your clothes on!"

Thanks for reading and have fun driving, but don't get caught doin' the above stunt on the street anymore, bcoz today, you would probably end up in prison or something like that, whichever, it would be very expensive! Drive safe and have a great summer! And remember to check out all the thousands of fine vehicles we have to offer right here on Classiccars.com, I am sure there is something here for everyone!

Greg's List keeps on growing!

Quiz of the week: What short wheelbase, 2-seater, all steel, American made (no pun intended, hint, hint, wink wink) "Muscle Car" was introduced in 1968 and was considered by some (including the press) to be an inexpensive Corvette competitor?